Switch for street-cars.



' No. 874,491. PATENTED DEC. 24, 1907.

W. H. COOMBS.

SWIT OH FOR STREET CARS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PETERS co WASHINGTON. D. c

PATENTED DEC. 24, 1907.

W. H. GOOMBS. SWITCH FOR STREET CARS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 26, 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEBT 2.

nN l g E1== I \k w Q w k W I III WILLIAM H. GOOMBS, OF ROCKFORD, ILLINOIS SWITCH FOR STREET-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 24, 1907.

Application filed August 26, 1907- Seria N0- 390,088-

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that 1, WILLIAM H. COOMBS, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Rockford, in the county of Winnebago and State of Illinois, have invented oer; tain new and useful Improvements in Switches for Street-Cars, of which the follow ing is a specification.

The object of my invention isto provide mechanism whereby the operators of streetcars can manipulate the points of switchtracks from the car-platforms; and it consists of certain new and useful features of construction and combinations of parts especially devised to that end, all as hereinafter fully described and specifically pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the major part of the lower portion of a street car provided with my improvements. Fig. 2 is an end view of the same with parts wanting. Fig. 3 is a section, at the dotted line 33, in Fig. 1, of parts there shown. The latter view also shows a top plan view of street-railway tracks. Fig. 4, is a section, at the dotted line 4-4 in Fig. 1, of parts there shown. The last-mentioned view likewise shows a top plan view of street-railway tracks.

Like reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughoutthe several views.

1 is a truck-frame, of any suitable construction, having axles 2 mounted therein provided with the usual flanged wheels 4 fast thereto and resting upon tracks.

6 is a car-bottom which is extended endwise to form the platforms 7 thereof, (one only being shown). The combined bottom and platform are mounted on the truck 1 by means of springs 8 (two only of the latter being shown).

9 is a hanger secured to and projecting downwardly from the under side of the platform 7.

10 is a rock-shaft vertically mounted in bearings in the platform 7 and hanger 9.

11 are two rock-shafts vertically mounted in bearings in the car-bottom 7 and bearings 12 on the truck-frame 1. The three rockshafts just described are freely oscillatable, as their name indicates, but they have no movement endwise.

of pivots 15.

yoke, but the construction described is 13 are two horizontally and parallelly arranged cranks, each fast by one end to the rock-shafts 11.

14 is a yoke the ends whereof are connected to the free ends of the cranks 13 by means The yoke has a mortise 16 therein to admit a part to be described hereinafter. A lug 17 is formed integrally with and projects transversely backward from the center of the yoke 14 and has a transverse horizontal slot 18 therethrough for a purpose to be described hereinafter.

19 is a bar rigidly connected by one end with the rock-shaft 10 and projecting into the mortise 16 in the yoke 14 whereto it is connected by means of the pivot 20. Ohviously the mortise 16 might be dispensed with altogether and the bar 19 be pivoted either to the upper or the under side of the preferable.

21 are hangers fast to and depending from the under side of the car-bottom and having transverse holes 22 in the lower-end portions thereof.

23 is a pintle passed through the holes 22 in the hangers 21 and the horizontal slot 18 in the lug 17, said slot being of suflicient length to permit the lug 17 to oscillate to correspond with the movements of the yoke 14.

The pintle 23 is rigidly secured in the hangers 21 by means of set screws 23 24 and 25 are springs encircling the pintle 21. and included between the hangers 21 and lug 17 and normally acting through said lug 17 to maintain the bar 19 at right angles to the yoke 14.

26 are bevel-edged switching-shoes ar ranged parallel to each other and rigidly secured to the lower-end portions of the rockshafts 11. The springs 24 and 25, acting through the lug 17, yoke 14, cranks 13 and rock-shafts 11, normally maintain the switching-shoes 26 at right angles to said yoke 14 and parallel with the sides of the car-bottom.

If the hand-wheel 27, which is fast to the rock-shaft 10, be turned towards the right, motion will be communicated therefrom through the bar 19, yoke 14, cranks 13 and rock-shafts '11, with the result that the edges of the switching-shoes 26 will be turned towards the right. If the hand-wheel be turned towards the left, motion will be communicated therefrom, through the same instrumentalities, with the result that the edges of the switching-shoes will be turned towards the left. Whenever the hand-Wheel is released, the springs 24 and 25 will immediately restore the switching-shoes to their initial positions at right angles to the yoke 14.

A and B are switching-points pivoted at a and 1) against the ends of the rails A B of stationary tracks.

C and F are guard-rails and are stationary.

D and E are stationary rails.

In Fig. 3, if it be assumed that the car is moving towards the left and that the switching-shoes 26 are turned towards the right, they will engage the switch-points A andB,

as in Fig. 4. After such engagement the op erator will turn the hand-wheel 27 towards the left, until said switch-points A and B are slid over against the guard-rail C and rail D, the car will then pass along the rail E,

switch-point B and rail B Obviously if the switch-points A and B were in contact with the guard-rail C and the rail D, and the switching-shoes 26 were turned towards the left while the car was in the positions shown in Fig. 3, and was traveling towards the left, said shoes would engage the switch-points A and B, preparatory to sliding them over into contact with the rail E and guard-rail F, and after having so slid them over, the car would pass along the rail D switch-point A and rail A In other words, the switching-shoes 26 may be manipulated by the operator from the car-platform to engage and move the switch-points A and B to the right or to the left, according to the direction it is desired that the car upon the tracks D and E shall travel.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In mechanism of the class described, in combination, two vertically-arranged rockshafts; two cranks, each fast by one end to one of the rock shafts; a yoke having its ends pivot-jointed to the free ends of the cranks;

two bevel-edged switching-shoes arranged parallel to each other; avertically-arranged rock-shaft located in front of the first-men tioned rock-shafts; a bar rigidly connected by one end to the front rock-shaft and pivotally connected by its other end to the central portion of the yoke; and supporting means and bearings for all of said parts substantially as described.

2. In mechanism of the class described, in combination, two vertically-arranged rockshafts; two cranks, each fast by one end to one of the rock-shafts; a yoke having its ends pivot-jointed to the free ends of the cranks; two bevel-edged switching-shoes arranged parallel to each other; a vertically-arranged rock-shaft located in the front of the firstmentioned rock-shafts; a bar rigidly connected by one end to the front rock-shaft and pivotally connected by its other end to the central portion of the yoke; springs normally acting, through the yoke cranks and rockshafts operated by said cranks, to maintain the switching-shoes at right angles to said yoke and supporting means and bearings for all of said parts substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

WILLIAM H. COOHBS.

Witnesses:

L. L. MORRISON, BURTON W. NORTON. 

